Food and Agriculture Education in the Radish Field: Pulling Radishes to Experience the Joy of Harvest
Daan River X Yuanli Canal: From Riverbed to Farmland
Yuanli is part of the Daan River alluvial plain. Starting from Huoyan Mountain, the terrain gradually descends, which favors the excavation of irrigation canals; the work was roughly completed around the 10th year of the Taisho era during the Japanese colonial period. Besides its century-old traditional rush-weaving industry, Yuanli is also an important granary of Miaoli. Nearly all the farmers here grow rice or taro, relying on the Yuanli Canal to draw water from the Daan River for irrigation.
“After the event, many people bought rice from the farmer to take home. There were three kinds: white rice, brown rice, and germ rice. Cooked together, the texture is very well balanced, and there is no need to soak or cook them separately. When everyone asked about storing the rice, the farmer said that once the rice is opened after purchase, it must be kept in the refrigerator, otherwise it easily gets rice weevils.”
From spring plowing and sowing to now, not long ago this batch of direct-sown rice was harvested. The yield from 1 fen of land was only 120 kg, even less than the roughly 300-400 kg yield of ordinary organic cultivation. He said the grains of this rice come out smaller, but it really tastes better than ordinary rice. Once, his own child ate the rice from the direct-sown harvest and happily kept saying how delicious it was, and that it was different from the organic rice the family usually grows!
Since Peng Qixuan began producing and selling on his own, he has liked to share the big and small happenings in the fields through Facebook and his blog. Besides online, consumers at the market often hear him share about farming. He wants to do the food and agriculture education he envisions, so he also plans activities around farming to give adults and children a chance to experience farm work.
The MIT NCHU Certified Agricultural Products Market has been established for four years now. Besides setting up stalls at the market every Sunday, farmers also take turns sharing agricultural knowledge there. The market occasionally cooperates with farmers to hold farm visits and farm-work experience activities, and it often shares farmers' big and small happenings on Facebook. The market focuses on small farmers, and many farmers grow a diverse range of crops, which makes the farm ecology rich; farmers also often bring different agricultural products. NCHU is a major agricultural university, and some students from agriculture-related departments go to the market to interact with farmers, and even intern at the farms. The farmers' market not only lets farmers and consumers interact; from the perspective of an agricultural school, it also has meaning on many levels.
Friends who want to know about the market can search Facebook for ”MIT NCHU Certified Agricultural Products Market”, and don't forget to go to the market to support the farmers!
MIT NCHU Certified Agricultural Products Market:
Location: No. 250, Guoguang Rd., South District, Taichung City (the plaza in front of the NCHU Small Auditorium)
Time: Every Sunday 8:00-12:00
Fan page: https://www.facebook.com/mitnchu
A Grain of Rice in the Ocean:
Fan page: https://www.facebook.com/gp1975fa123